KBCI, the Fisher Communications-owned CBS affiliate in Boise, ID, completed a major upgrade of its newsroom production environment this summer.

The new environment, designed and integrated by Advanced Broadcast Solutions (ABS) of Kent, WA, helped KBCI reduce the number of people needed in production control from nine to three, freeing up personnel to take on other tasks.

At the heart of the upgrade is a Thomson Grass Valley Ignite integrated production system that links KBCI's production control room with its AP ENPS newsroom computer system. The new system also includes a dual-channel Avid Deko live graphics system.

Although the upgraded news production system required a sizeable investment on the part of Fisher Communications, the company projects that it will see a return on investment within two years as a result of improved efficiencies, said Fisher Communications VP of engineering Kelly Alford.

Prior to the upgrade, KBCI was using a decades-old video production infrastructure based on a Grass Valley 1680 production switcher and single-channel Chyron Max. Both products have been discontinued, which left the station vulnerable in the event of a failure.

According to ABS president Mark Siegel, the need to replace the Grass Valley 1680 was so urgent that ABS and Thomson Grass Valley loaned KBCI a Grass Valley Kayak production switcher for six months while the station awaited delivery of its new Thomson Grass Valley Ignite. When the new Ignite, which includes a built-in 2 M/E Kayak enhanced by automation and control software, was installed, the loaner Kayak was returned.

Replacing the single-channel Chyron Max with the dual-channel Avid Deko has improved the on-air appearance of the station’s newscasts. Graphics operators can now compose contemporary, multilayered 3-D animated graphics with full motion video, and employ automated graphics composition tools, such as templates for generating real-time-driven data displays, Siegel said.